Description

British tanks are snipers, designed to engage with minimal threat to the tank and its crew while still being a major thorn in the enemy's side. Stick to knowledge of the maps you'll be playing on to enhance your defensive playstyle, grabbing husks of old tanks or tank ditches to your advantage then bursting out of cover to ambush enemies. The tank has a mediocre off-road top speed of 20 mph (stock), yet can do 7 mph in reverse, so don't be afraid to duck back into cover.

That being said, the Vickers has pitiful armour that rarely stands up to any punishment other than SPAA, and even then this is true for the front armour. The ~100 mm frontal armour on the turret is good for stray or hurried shots, although the lack of slopes inhibits your chances of bouncing shots, let the environment do this for you.

Usage in the battles

Although it can be done with its excellent reload speed of 5-7 seconds (crew skill depending), mixing ranks with the enemy is ill advised: instead take upon a sniping role. Your gun has only two types of ammo, both stock so research is not required for enhanced destruction. That being said, the APDS is a potent weapon that has 302 mm on pen at 100 mm, falling to 252mm at 2500m: all ranges are within your kill-zone, with enemies moving towards more manoeuvrability over armour in the high ranks. However, the rounds lack spalling potential, so the damage inflicted on a tank interior must be in the APDS direct path past the penetration. If you aim for the turret weak-spots, the barrel or breach will be your most common hits, incurring 20-30 precious seconds of repair time.

The HESH shell is a very different story. This is an excellent weapon in urban/CQC due to its uncanny ability to rupture ammunition. You only have 127 mm of pen, but this is at all ranges. It can still reach 2800 m without too much compensation, yet with its low pen (for the rank and armour you'll be facing) it is advisable to use this in CQC and when flanking. The thing with this round is that it pens then morphs into a solid ball of HE-based death.

Some enemies to deal with:

The Lorraine 40t will bounce more shots than you care to admit, or your hits will do minor damage. Just out the nature of the reserved play style this tank likes, any fast tanks will be a problem due to their ability to close the gap as you attempt to reach your favourite position. Engine and transmission upgrades will lessen this, in time.

All Russian tanks are difficult to deal with, yet learning their weak spots will lead you to victory. German tanks are a problem based on their accuracy and reload, however the cheeks of their turrets are prime targets for eagle-eyed gunners.

Pros and cons

Pros:

Stock APDS shell has very high penetration values.

Gun fires APDS shell at over 1,400 m/s.

The addition of HESH ammo with shrapnel effect.

Has a 12.7mm L21A1 machine gun which is used for range finding.

Fast reload speed, at best 5 seconds.

Above average reverse speed compared to some British tanks

Excellent maneuverability, even over rough terrain

A good counter to Russian heavy tanks (IS3, IS6, IS4) if you know the weak spots

Cons:

Poor armour, even lower ranked guns are quite a threat.

While top speed is around 49 km/h, you will rarely hit it

Depression of only -7° which is below average for British tanks.

APDS causes only punctual damage, meaning that killing some vehicles is a challenge

Many SPAA vehicles can penetrate your sides or back.

History

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read also

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